Tackle Organization

Tackle Organization 101…Class is In Session

By: Glenn Walker

Many anglers spend their time during the winter and early spring getting their fishing tackle ready for the next year, while others are just getting their tackle all set for this fishing season. Regardless of the scenario you fall into, there is never a bad time to look over your tackle and make sure it is all organized.

As a tournament fisherman I have found an organized tackle box is one of the most important things to help maximize your time and efficiency on the water. The time you spend in the offseason organizing tackle will aid in you finding the items you need quicker next fishing season, resulting in more fishing time.

To keep my tackle organized in my boat, I use a variety of Lure Lock plastic cases to customize each case for certain bait styles and bodies of water. This way I can easily re-rig rods in the evening before a fishing trip and even more importantly find that key lure when I’m on the water.

For all of my hardbaits – like crankbaits and topwater plugs – along with terminal tackle items like hooks, weights and jigheads, I use the Lure Lock cases that have the proprietary blue gel in the bottom of the case. This gel secures items to the bottom of the case, so as I’m running down the lake, my baits stay in place. The result is fewer damaged lures, or lures with boat rash, and your hook points won’t rub on one another or the side of the plastic case and become dull. Heck, I can even turn the case upside down with tackle in it and they won’t fall out.

Sorting and separating

I organize my crankbaits by how deep they run and style of crankbait. Now if I have a lot of a certain style, I have one case for one color palette and a separate case for another. This is similar for lipless crankbaits as well. I have one case for shad-colored baits and another Lure Lock case with crawfish and chartreuse-colored baits.

I feel organizing your baits in a layout like this is beneficial because you can grab the cases you need for a particular fishing trip and leave the others at home. This way you limit the amount of tackle you are bringing with you, which 1) reduces the amount of clutter and weight in the boat, and 2) keeps you focused on fishing and not always looking for that next lure to tie on.

For my terminal tackle items, I only want to bring enough weights or jigheads to get me through that day on the water, as I can restock that evening. A handful of weights in each size will easily stay secured to the gel in my cases and keep from coming in contact with each other and chipping off the paint chip. The same goes for my shaky head and jig-worm heads. A few heads in the needed sizes will keep the weight in my boat down.